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Labor Day - office closed on 6-Sep-10 8:30 AM

Drilling: Geosteering in US Shale Plays - Methods and Issues Discovered in a Multi-Disciplinary Approach on 8-Sep-10 11:30 AM

General Meeting: SHOULD YOU TRUST YOUR GUT? - HUMAN PSYCHOLOGICAL WEAKNESSES WHEN MAKING DECISIONS IN THE FACE OF UNCERTAINTY on 9-Sep-10 11:30 AM

Northside: Reservoir Modeling and Production Evaluation in Shale-Gas Reservoirs on 14-Sep-10 11:30 AM

Petro-Tech: Mitigating Financial and Operations Risks When Facing Adversity in Offshore Decommissioning Projects (i.e. What to do when things go really bad - it happens to us all. A case study) on 14-Sep-10 11:30 AM

Digital Energy: RFID Technology on 15-Sep-10 11:30 AM

Westside: Continuous Well Monitoring Using DTS on 15-Sep-10 11:30 AM

SPE GCS Board of Directors Meeting on 16-Sep-10 7:30 AM

S&E: The Great Debate: A Safety Case Regime for U.S. Offshore Drilling and Production? on 16-Sep-10 9:00 AM

PetroBowl IX on 20-Sep-10 8:00 AM

SPE GCS Board of Directors Meeting on 15-Sep-11 7:30 AM

SPE-GCS September e-Newsletter 2010

SPE-GCS e-Newsletter Sponsored by: Hexion Are Your Fracturing Proppants Performing Effectively? Visit us at the SPE ATCE in Florence and attend our presentation of SPE 135502 on proppant selection in shale reservoirs. You will gain practical information from recent field studies and laboratory testing to improve well production. For more information, visit waterfrac.com or hexion.com/oilfield. Calendar Events for September 2010 Geosteering in US Shale Plays - Methods and Issues Discovered in a Multi-Disciplinary Approach Sponsor: Study Group - Drilling Speaker's Name: Gerry Drake, Project Geological Advisor - Anadarko Day: Wednesday 8-Sep-10 11:30 AM Location: Greenspoint Club 16925 Northchase Drive Houston, TX 77060 Summary: Horizontal drillling has become common practice in today’s unconventional fracture and shale plays. Advances in drill bit technology, measurement while drilling, and geosteering have allowed... Register | Google Maps | Add to Calendar Should You Trust Your Gut? Human Psychological Weakness When Making Decisions in the Face of Uncertainty Sponsor: General Meeting Study Group Speaker's Name: Patrick Leach Day: Thursday 9-Sep-10 11:30 AM Location: Petroleum Club, 43rd Floor, ExxonMobil Building 800 Bell St, 43rd Floor Houston, Texas 77002 Summary: Evolution has prepared human beings very poorly for making decisions in an uncertain business environment. Humans – and some other primates – are frequently illogical when comparing... Register | Google Maps | Add to Calendar Reservoir Modeling and Production Evaluation in Shale-Gas Reservoirs Sponsor: Study Group - Northside Speaker's Name: Craig Cipolla Day: Tuesday 14-Sep-10 11:30 AM Location: Greenspoint Club, 16925 Northchase Dr., Houston TX 77060 USA Summary: This presentation examines issues with forecasting and evaluating production from unconventional gas reservoirs, such as the Barnett Shale. A key factor in... Register | Google Maps | Add to Calendar Mitigating Financial and Operations Risks When Facing Adversity in Offshore Decommissioning Projects (i.e. What to do when things go really bad - it happens to us all. A case study) Sponsor: Petro Tech Study Group Speaker's Name: Bill Napier, President - Fairwinds International, Inc. Day: Tuesday 14-Sep-10 11:30 AM Location: Westlake Club, 570 WestLake Park Blvd, Houston TX 77079 Summary: A case study of an unusual decommissioning project. The removal of an old jack-up drilling rig that had been converted into a fixed production facility in the US Gulf of Mexico – Federal waters.... Register | Google Maps | Add to Calendar Continuous Well Monitoring Using DTS Sponsor: Study Group - Westside Speaker's Name: Doug Norton, Intelligent Production Systems - Baker Hughes Day: Wednesday 15-Sep-10 11:30 AM Location: The WestLake Club - Carriage Room 570 WestLake Park Blvd Houston, Texas 77079 Summary: In the industry, temperature logs are obtained by logging wells with thermal sensors. These discreet sensors are point sensors, typically either deployed at fixed depths or dipped in... Register | Google Maps | Add to Calendar SPE GCS Board of Directors Meeting Sponsor: Board of Directors Day: Thursday 16-Sep-10 7:30 AM Location: SPE Houston Office 10777 Westheimer Road, Suite 1075 Houston, Texas 77042 Summary: The Gulf Coast Section will hold its monthly Board of Directors meeting from 7:30 am to 10:30 am. Please register so that we may have a proper head count for breakfast... Register | Google Maps | Add to Calendar The Great Debate: A Safety Case Regime for U.S. Offshore Drilling and Production? Sponsor: Study Group - Safety and Environment Speaker's Name: Panel Day: Thurs 16-Sep-10 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Location: Omni Westside, 13210 Katy Freeway, Houston Texas 77079 USA Summary: The presentation will discuss the current situation surrounding water usage and treatment standards in the U.S. Shale gas plays, this will be focused in the Marcellu... Register | Google Maps | Add to Calendar Shenzi Development - Project Predictability Sponsor: Study Group - Projects, Facilities and Construction Speaker's Name: Chris Barnesby Day: Tuesday 21-Sep-10 11:30 AM Location: Renaissance Houston Hotel Greenway Plaza, 6 Greenway Plaza East, Houston TX 77406 USA Summary: The Shenzi Project lifecycle from discovery to first production was 76 months from sanction to first production 33.5 months. The project was delivered against agreed... Register | Google Maps | Add to Calendar How Do Cementing Additives Work & Why Sometimes Not As Expected? Sponsor: Study Group - Permian Basin Speaker's Name: Andreas Brandl, Research Scientist - BJ Services Company Day: Tuesday 21-Sep-10 11:30 AM Location: Westlake Club 570 Westlake Park Blvd. Houston, TX 77079 Summary: The life of Seminole San Andres Field, which was discovered in 1936, is being extended by development of the Residual Oil Zone (ROZ) by Hess Corporation. The San Andres formation, the most... Register | Google Maps | Add to Calendar Deepwater Drilling Challenges and Solutions Sponsor: Completion & Production Study Group Speaker's Name: Robert Clyde, Drilling Engineer Manager - Schlumberger Day: Wed 22-Sep-10 11:30 AM Location: Greenspoint club 16925 Northchase Houston, TX 77060 Summary: Good fracturing practices have been developed over the past 50 years and have been applied across a great variety of formations worldwide. With advent of horizontal multi-stage fracturing... Register | Google Maps | Add to Calendar Getting on the Road to Recovery: Industry Outlook & Restructuring for Success in 2010 Sponsor: Business Development Study Group Speaker's Name: Michael Hannagan, Sr. Vice President - Raymond James & Assoc.; James Harden, Global Market Leader - Ernst & Young Day: Wednesday 22-Sep-10 5:30 PM Location: FOUR SEASONS HOTEL, 2nd Floor Mezzanine and Meeting Rooms - 1300 Lamar St., Between Caroline & Austin Houston, Texas 77010 Summary: Whether your strategy is growth, change, or survival, you will gain insights and new tools to help your Company navigate the global economy and Oil & Gas industry sector from these.... Register | Google Maps | Add to Calendar Integrating Field Data for Rapid Learning in Thunder Horse and Atlantis Sponsor: Study Group - Reservoir Speaker's Name: Peter Clifford, Reservoir Engineering Advisor - BP Day: Thursday 23-Sep-10 11:30 AM Location: Courtyard on St James 1885 St James Place Houston, TX 77056 Summary: The presentation discusses how surveillance data have been interpreted and integrated into reservoir models and reservoir understanding, in order to steer the development of two major... Register | Google Maps | Add to Calendar Energizing Houston - An Energy Networking Event Sponsor: Young Professionals Day: Thurs 23-Sep-10 5:30 PM Location: St. Regis Hotel, 1919 Briar Oaks Lane, Houston TX 77027 * Please note the change of venue Summary: Come Network With Us! Join Texas Young Professionals, Society of Petroleum Engineers, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and Houston Geological Society for an evening of... Register | Google Maps | Add to Calendar Future Events Environmental, Health and Safety Regulatory Initiatives Impacting the Oil and Gas Industry Sponsor: Northside Study Group Speaker's Name: Geoffrey Swett, Senior Consultant - E.Vironment, LP Day: Tues 12-Oct-10 11:30 AM Location: Greenspoint Club, 16925 Northchase Dr., Houston TX 77060 USA Summary: The upstream oil and gas industry is currently experiencing a deluge of new regulatory and legislative initiatives. States from Colorado, Wyoming, Texas and Pennsylvania have implemented or... Register | Google Maps | Add to Calendar Oil Patch Orientation Sponsor: SPE Gulf Coast Section and SPE Real Time Optimization Technical Interest Group Speaker's Names: John Farina, Marty Stetzer, Ron Hinn, Ken Arnold & Susan Howes Day: Wed 13-Oct-10 8:30 AM Location: Hilton Houston North, 12400 Greenspoint Drive, Houston TX 77060 Summary: This seminar is the most popular SPE program. The course is designed as non-technical audio-visual guided tour through the oil patch, illustrating the basic equipment... Register | Google Maps | Add to Calendar Latin American Experiences of an Oilfield Equipment Supplier Sponsor: General Meeting Study Group Speaker's Name: Thomas Crisp, Manager of International Sales - Cavo Drilling Motors Day: Thursday 14-Oct-10 11:30 AM Location: Petroleum Club, 43rd Floor, ExxonMobil Building 800 Bell St, 43rd Floor Houston, Texas 77002 Summary: The entire region of Latin America is comprised of more than fifteen countries. Yet the majority of economic activity for the region occurs in just five countries... Register | Google Maps | Add to Calendar Articles/Miscellaneous Chairman's Corner September 2010 How does Servitude Leadership relate to teamwork? It does not take much effort to identify great teams around us, whether in sports or in business. What is interesting is noting how quickly these teams can... Then and Now September 2010 Sept 1950 It is possible for oil interests and ecological interests to coexist, as witnessed by a recent compromise between West Coast oil interests, the U.S. Forest Service, the Interior Department... 2010 Kick Off Meeting Photos Photos from this year's kick off meeting are now online, check them out here. Digital Energy Workshop - 9 Podcasts from the event! This workshop compiled published reports on the value of real time data, and hosted presentations of case studies on its value and benefit. Watch the podcast sections here. SPE Short Courses Presented in Houston In efforts to support and build career and lifelong learning needs, SPE has just completed construction of a training center in Houston. This facility will allow SPE to provide a variety of cost-effective continuing education courses year round. View the Houston schedule and register here. Opt-In to Receive E-Mail Alerts from Specific Study Groups or Committees You can now quickly and easily subscribe to a specific study group or committee to receive e-mail information concerning that group’s special events or meetings. Simply logon or register (if you haven’t already) to the SPE GCS Web site... Keep Your Information Current As the new year begins, make sure your profile is up to date on the website including your email address and current employer. Login here and make any edits to keep your newsletters and contact info current. If you want to view helpfiles regarding updating your record, please review the site helpfile. Remember, you must be logged in to register for calendar events and receive your member discount. What's Online SPE-GCS has a new website! Take a few minutes to learn about the new changes on the "Tips & Tricks" page. You can still search for jobs, post a resume, or browse employment resources. Advertise with SPE-GCS There exists a variety of opportunities for organizations involved in the oil and gas industry to advertise in electronic format through the Society of Petroleum Engineers Gulf Coast Section (SPE - GCS). Ad Specs Stay up to date with our RSS feeds. Copyright 2000-2010 Society of Petroleum Engineers - Gulf Coast Section. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Statement. Web site designed and programmed by Schipul Technologies, Inc.

Chairman's Corner September 2010

How does Servitude Leadership relate to teamwork? It does not take much effort to identify great teams around us, whether in sports or in business. What is interesting is noting how quickly these teams can change from great to mediocre and vice versa. I believe that a part of this change is due to the willingness of members to humble themselves for the good of the whole. A favorite quote of mine that personifies this message is by Edward Everett Hale who said, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.” Your Gulf Coast Section is a great example of teamwork. Hundreds of volunteers work tirelessly, most often on their own time, to provide world-class technical knowledge to our membership while reaching out into the community to help support and encourage our youth to seek higher education and, perhaps, a career within our industry.

For the long-term goals of our section, we want to achieve operational excellence and financial excellence and to strengthen our relationship with the International organization of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. We will strive to attain operational excellence within our technical programming, education and community outreach, and social events. We plan to achieve financial excellence through the creation and implementation of governance policies and procedures that require us to be fiscally responsible stewards of our assets. Because we believe that a strong relationship with SPE International is important because of the size and strength of our section as it relates to others, we plan to seek out collaborative projects and provide knowledge transfer of successful programs, events, and projects to SPEI and other sections.

There are numerous specific short-term goals for the 2010-2011 year available for review on our website at www.spegcs.org. Goals for technical programming focus on study groups, workshops, and technology transfer. The goals of the study groups involve maintaining the 95 study group meetings held each year and increasing attendance by 10 percent, from 65 to 72 attendees per event, with a breakeven financial target. The goal of the growth area for the section is to add three additional workshops, symposiums, and/or seminars to the 11 completed last year with a 20 percent net income target. Finally, technology transfer will continue to grow with the use of podcasts and the use of technologies, such as webinars. I encourage each of you to check these out and think about where you can plug in this year. After all, ” you are only one.”

Then and Now - September 2010

Sept 1950
It is possible for oil interests and ecological interests to coexist, as witnessed by a recent compromise between West Coast oil interests, the U.S. Forest Service, the Interior Department, and the Audubon Society. Under an agreement that was reached between these groups, drilling in the Los Padres National Forest in Ventura County, California, home of the 60 remaining California condors, could proceed as long as those operations were conducted relatively quietly and at least half a mile from the nearest condor nest. (See … it can be done!) $ Add polar exploration to the list of sciences benefitting from the oil industry and its wondrous equipment. The American Geographical Society has chosen an Eastman Oil Well Survey Co. instrument to measure the drift of the Juneau ice cap in Alaska.
East Texas crude oil - $2.65/bbl

Sept 1970
The border war may be on, as Mobil drills a rank wildcat 6 miles north of the metropolis of Telephone, Texas and just 660 ft from the Oklahoma border. (That hold better be straight or there are going to be problems!) $ Meanwhile, further to the north, Oklahoma’s Anadarko Basin has three wildcats drilling below 20,000 ft. $ The Iraqi Union of Oil and Mineral Workers warns that members would destroy all imperialistic oil installations if Middle East peace is achieved under the U.S. plan. $ Despite no drilling in the area in the past 15 years, Texaco reports plans to drill a wildcat in central Florida, 6 miles northeast of Wewahotee. (Sounds like a word out of a John Wayne movie.)
U.S. active rig count – 945

Sept 1990
The threat of war with Iraq pushes oil prices above $30 per bbl. $ Pennzoil and Snyder Oil announce plans to jointly participate in a Niobrara play in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming, which may include horizontal drilling. (It looks like they were ahead of the peloton.) $ Venezuela’s state-owned Pdvsa authorizes its Citgo unit to negotiate purchase of 50% of New Jersey refiner Seaview Petroleum. (Beware … Hugo is spreading his wings!) $ Greece announces plans to end its state monopoly on oil and gas exploration and invites participation by Greek and foreign private companies. Greece’s only production at present is in the northern Aegean Sea. (I’ll volunteer for that duty!)
Light sweet crude oil - $31.13/bbl; U.S. active rig count – 1,039

The Rest of the Yarn
A syndicated cartoonist for many years, including a weekly entry in the Oil and Gas Journal in the 1950’s, he made fame and fortune thanks to his goofy inventions, bizarre statues, and similarly incongruous and impossible drawings. His name became a household word and is still a synonym for an odd mechanical contraption. Later in his career he decided to turn to higher things, dropped his inventions cold, and devoted himself to serious political cartooning. He did so well at it that he won a Pulitzer Prize. But his suppressed mechanical genius cried out for an outlet, so he began putting it to work identifying cause-and-effect relationships in the news events every week. Again he succeeded, but regardless, he will forever be identified with his odd mechanical contraptions. He was Rube Goldberg. And now you know … The Rest of the Yarn.


History Quiz
In September 1970, how many (+/- 5) “super deep” wells were being drilled at one time in the U.S.: a) 15; b) 30; c) 45; or d) 60? For a tie-breaker, what county and state had the most “super deep” wells being drilled at that time?

If you would like to participate in this month’s quiz, e-mail your answer to contest@spe.org by noon September 15. The winner, who will be chosen randomly from all correct answers, will receive a $50 gift card to a nice restaurant.

Answer to May’s Quiz
The order and year of the first oil discoveries in the following states is as follows: Tennessee (1860), New York (1865), Montana (1916) and Arizona (1954).

Answer to April’s Quiz
In the 1870’s, Cleveland, Ohio was viewed as the oil metropolis of the world, due to the first incorporation and headquartering of Standard Oil in that city.

Congratulations to April’s winner – Mark Glaser with Weatherford International!

Section Award Winner: Tracy Jones

Tracy Jones,